I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 17

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 17
Episode 17
Death hung heavy over the blood-red earth.
Screeeech—!
A single Orc standing upon it was fleeing in terror, gripped by an emotion unbecoming of a monster.
Driven by instinct to charge at the enemy, yet even its feeble intellect could comprehend the truth.
Death.
Coming soon.
It swung its axe with frenzied desperation, though the gesture had become almost pitiful to witness.
Its companions had long since returned to the earth, their heads fountaining blood from attacks it could not fathom.
Born from the earth and returning to it—an Orc should feel no fear.
But not like this.
In the Orc’s vision, far beyond its reach, a human held a long staff aimed directly at it.
Or was it even human?
Death.
The Reaper incarnate.
No matter how fast it ran, it could never reach—
But the human could take its life whenever they wished—
Boom—!
「All enemies eliminated.
14th Floor cleared.
Rank: S+」
「Item ‘Choi Ihyeon’s Sniper Gun’ leveled up.
Check your status window.」
“Finally. About time it leveled up.”
I exhaled at the notification I’d been waiting for.
It took reaching the 14th Floor after passing through the 11th, 12th, and 13th to finally gain a level.
Hunters often spoke of dead zones where levels refused to climb no matter how much they fought—apparently this was mine.
All things considered, the timing wasn’t unreasonable.
At my level, ascending one floor per day was standard; other Hunters were still spending weeks grinding through repeated clears to level up on each floor.
Then I turned my head, surveying my surroundings.
The landscape, once a wasteland, had grown noticeably darker.
Even the Orcs’ complexion had deepened considerably from when I first arrived, the corpse of the last one included.
Naturally, this was the influence of the Dark Orcs that would appear on the next floor.
‘Still, one shot ends it all anyway…’
Looking at the Orc corpses with bullet holes through their skulls, I felt a twinge of pity.
Was this what happened when you had breathing room—sympathy even for monsters?
It was an emotion I should avoid.
I shook my head, clearing the thought.
After all, it was rather absurd for someone who would harvest even their bones to harbor such concerns.
Killing Goblins with bone bullets allowed me to obtain byproducts intact, which proved useful.
「Harvestable Byproducts
Orc Bone
Orc Hide」
“Oh, this one drops bones I can collect.”
However, starting with Orcs, hides appeared more frequently than bones, which was disappointing.
And since I hadn’t yet obtained a “slightly special Orc bone,” a notification window appeared stating that Orc bones still couldn’t be used with the magic stone gun.
As a result, my inventory held quite a substantial amount of bones and hides.
After finishing the collection, I opened my status window.
I distributed my ability points and also invested the three E-grade magic stones I’d obtained as this floor’s special reward into mana.
In any case, my steadily climbing ability points proved that my actions had been correct.
「Firepower: 30+1
Range: 10+3
Precision: 20+1
Stability: 20+1
Concealment: 30+3
Rapid Fire: 13+3
Mana: 40+3」
‘I’ll keep 10 in reserve again….’
To perfectly align my distribution points at 10, I only invested 12 this time.
Meanwhile, my mana ability points were approaching 49, the threshold where even E-grade stones could no longer increase it.
It would be possible by the 15th Floor at the earliest, or the 16th Floor at the latest.
“Well, at least I’m making money out of it.”
A sniper must be able to find positive aspects even in situations where everyone else feels despair.
That was how I managed to endure in that hellish military unit, again and again.
However, even I had one thing I couldn’t think positively about.
“No, why does this brilliant system prevent me from exiting directly outside the Tower?”
Even a system that perfectly implemented almost everything I imagined couldn’t let me exit without passing through the public floor.
And on that public floor I absolutely had to pass through, there would undoubtedly be crowds of people looking for Ilgyeok today as well.
「Will you exit from the 14th Floor?」
“…Yes.”
As always, I answered the system’s question about exiting with reluctant tone.
I gripped the cloak’s collar firmly to prevent a repeat of last time’s incident.
Still, there were fewer people than when I cleared the 11th Floor.
The atmosphere had changed oddly as well, but regardless, exiting and carefully observing before putting the cloak into my inventory and pretending to be someone who just entered proved most effective.
Whoosh—
The next moment, I returned to the public floor.
Without even opening my eyes, the boisterous noise immediately reached my ears, making the fact clear.
“Waaaaaaah!!!!”
“Ilgyeok! Ilgyeok! Ilgyeok!”
“The General ascends the Tower!”
“Did the 14th Floor really only take five minutes?”
“You idiot, Ilgyeok is human too. You have to account for the time he spends collecting byproducts!”
“So two minutes?!”
“Ilgyeok, take me with you!”
‘…Not happening.’
I watched the crowd revel as if they had climbed the Tower themselves, clicking my tongue in disbelief.
Did they really have nothing better to do?
Many of them had even cleared floors far higher than mine, yet they came seeking a glimpse of Ilgyeok.
“Hehehehe, I witnessed Ilgyeok’s clear notification firsthand, so that’s enough.”
“Yeah, let’s come back tomorrow.”
Still, the general public had settled into a more manageable atmosphere.
After the chaos that erupted on the day I first entered the Public Floor, the internet had been flooded with complaints.
[ Author: Ilgyeokjoa
Title: You crazy bastards, knock it off.
“Content: No matter how much you like Ilgyeok, what’s with using the common area as your fan meeting venue? You’re causing trouble for everyone who’s legitimately using the common area. What are you doing? This is why people talk about how low Korean civic consciousness is ㅉㅉ”
Ilgyeok is human too. Let’s wait patiently until he graces us with his presence out of love.
└ Ttokdoli: So you’re not going?
└ Ilgyeokjoa: I went though;;;
└ Bedeotmeokkeolgeoya: OP’s level;;;;;
Roughly that sort of thing, and as a result, whenever word spread that Ilgyeok had arrived, people would briefly enter, and once the clear notification appeared, they’d leave again—a form of self-regulation had taken hold.
However, this didn’t necessarily benefit me.
‘If anything, only the real deal remains.’
As people gradually disappeared, I walked the corridors observing the types who stayed behind.
First, there were still the most fans at my level, even after the self-regulation.
Aside from being loud, they weren’t particularly bothersome.
They were legitimate users of this floor anyway, so I had no grounds to complain.
Second were high-level Scouts who seemed to have gathered to pitch recruitment offers.
I couldn’t say if all of them were, but judging by the occasional mentions of famous guild names and their serious discussions about my identity, I could make an educated guess.
And third were ordinary Hunters trying to catch the Scouts’ attention through sheer posturing.
“Man, Dark Orcs are too easy now, seriously? I hit B+ yesterday!”
“Yeah? What level are you?”
“33!”
“Um, I’m from Daeseong Guild’s recruitment team. Could we have a word?”
“Huh? Oh, I’m busy, but… sure, why not!”
Watching them flaunt expensive gear and boast about their specs, their intentions were transparent.
The Scouts, unable to find Ilgyeok easily, occasionally showed interest in such Hunters instead.
The 10th Floor Common Area had inadvertently become a personnel agency thanks to Ilgyeok!
I pulled my concealment cloak over myself and slipped into a quieter alley.
‘Ugh, so noisy. This should be far enough.’
I quickly surveyed my surroundings and removed my cloak.
Whoosh—
Just then, a figure emerged from around the corner of the alley, glancing about nervously.
“Huh?”
“!”
The man tilted his head upon seeing me, and I couldn’t help but start in surprise.
‘How careless of me!’
I should have at least checked the far corner across the way—no, even the corner beyond that—before removing my cloak!
How could I call myself Ilgyeok with such a blunder?
Worse still, judging by his appearance and the aura he emanated, he was unmistakably a high-level Scout.
‘Damn it, have I been exposed?’
As I stood there awkwardly, considering my options,
he glanced at me before approaching with a grin spreading across his face.
“Hey, hold on a moment.”
“…What is it?”
I asked, letting a hint of wariness show through.
The Scout paused briefly, but then spoke again, his smile deepening.
“Come on, why the cold shoulder? We’re all in the same line of work here.”
This much was certain.
‘Ah, despite all my efforts to conceal my identity, I couldn’t overcome the chaos of the Public Floor!’
I sighed and opened my mouth.
“I am…”
The Scout cut me off and continued speaking.
“You’re a Scout too, right? Any good finds? If you do, let’s keep it between us Scouts.”
“????”
* * *
The ‘Elite Guild’—considered to be barely within the tier of major guilds.
Still, it was a reasonably well-known and stable guild.
Daejun was part of the Elite Guild’s recruitment team and had been on assignment to the 10th Floor Common Area for the past few days.
“Stop loafing around doing nothing and find Ilgyeok! If you bring back even a business card, I’ll personally ensure your promotion!”
Well, I’ll admit I’ve had an easy time these past few days.
But asking me to find Ilgyeok? That’s a sudden spike in workload, isn’t it?
Still, I couldn’t complain about such a task directly to the Team Leader.
As a Hunter originally from the 40th Floor range, I had no choice but to clock in at the First Public Floor, which I’d passed through long ago.
The first day was a failure, naturally, as crowds of people swarmed the area.
But from the second day onward, I had enough breathing room to observe various people.
Rumors had spread that many Scouts came here, and there were plenty of arrogant Hunters about.
The Team Leader said to recruit anyone with potential among them, so this too was part of the job.
However, Hunters who caught my eye were truly few and far between.
‘Then again, if someone were actually diligent, they wouldn’t come all the way here to scout other Hunters.’
The competition among guilds to recruit hunters these days is absolutely fierce.
Most decent hunters get scooped up entirely from the 20th to 30th Floor Common Areas.
So the people gathering here now are third-rate hunters who didn’t make it past that filter.
Even when I approach people who seem somewhat decent,
“I’m Han Daejun from the Elite Guild.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I already have a guild.”
“Oh, my mistake.”
Time and again, they were already affiliated with a guild.
“Ugh, the fact that I haven’t been caught yet means they obviously have some skill or item that doesn’t stand out to others. Anyway, I have no idea how someone so stupid made it to Team Leader.”
After several days of this repetition, all that grows is sighs and complaints about my boss.
When I saw the notice that Ilgyeok cleared the 14th Floor with an S+ rating, I thought today would be another wasted day too, wandering around the Common Area here and there.
“Huh?”
Suddenly I ran into someone in an alley.
Daejun tilted his head in confusion.
‘…I didn’t sense their presence?’
To reiterate, Daejun was already a 40th Floor Hunter.
Any hunter lingering around the 10th Floor Common Area should be easily detected by Daejun’s senses, yet he hadn’t noticed this person at all until now.
‘Well, it’s not really that strange.’
There had never been a time when high-level hunters gathered here like they do these days.
‘Hmm, look at that.’
Daejun quickly scanned the hunter who had stopped in place, seemingly as flustered as he was.
Their appearance was quite intriguing.
‘This person is interesting.’
Daejun was certain of it.
That person was also a poor Scout pushed down here by their Team Leader’s pressure, just like him.
But unlike himself, they seemed quite diligent.
“Come on, why act like that? We all know each other here.”
“I’m…”
Wait, a newbie?
Newbies usually acted like that when first assigned to covert scouting work, trying not to get caught.
‘As a senior Scout, I should give them some advice!’
Daejun spoke with a broad smile.
“You’re a Scout too, right? How about it—any results? If you have any, let’s share just between us.”
“????”
Indeed, hitting them directly with such a blunt approach confirmed they were definitely someone fresh to the recruitment team.
Their level seemed comparable to his own, but they clearly seemed new to this kind of work.
“Who hides being a Scout these days? You can tell just by looking—it’s obvious, right?”
Hearing Daejun’s definitive tone, Ihyeon felt relieved internally.
Unaware of Ihyeon’s true feelings, Daejun continued talking.
“Anyway, you really are working hard at this.”
“Huh?”
“Your gear—I was surprised when I saw it. Those are the items displayed right at the front of the Hunter Supply Store, aren’t they?”
So this is what they mean by a high-level Scout!
I nodded in surprise.
“How did you…?”
“You seem to be trying to blend in as a local here, but honestly, who wears stuff like that on the 10th Floor these days? Everyone at least matches an Orc set before coming in. Oh, were you going for that ‘stagnant player’ look? Either way, you’ve got the Scout vibe down perfectly!”
“…”
This was the second time I’d been dismissed, after Jeongsik.
Though I had been planning to upgrade anyway, being looked down upon like this by others left a bitter taste in my mouth.
‘I even spent my severance pay on this stuff—did they really need to dismiss it so thoroughly?’
In any case, equipment wasn’t what mattered right now.
What mattered was that my true identity remained beyond their wildest imagination.
‘At least I haven’t been exposed. If I can just get through this safely…’
I’d cleared one crisis, but it wasn’t over yet.
However, my survival instincts as a sniper were truly formidable.
I let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“Times are so tough these days—I can barely scrape together decent gear, let alone anything like Ilgyeok.”
“Ah, yeah—we’re all in the same boat, aren’t we? Then we go back to the guild and get chewed out by the Team Leader. Right?”
“Haha.”
“Hahaha!”
That hearty laughter only those who shared hardship could produce!
A thought struck me like lightning as I bought myself some time.
‘If I play this right, I could hit the jackpot.’
The fundamentals of sniping are concealment and survival.
And one of its finest virtues is deception.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————